New music
A lot can happen in thirty years, but some things stand the test of time and no more so than the debut album from Mancunian legends Oasis who released ‘Definitely Maybe’ thirty years ago on August 29th 1994.
It sky-rocketed straight to the top of the UK charts and followed up hot on the heels of three hit singles which includes the band’s third single ‘Live Forever’ that cemented Oasis’ arrival on the world’s stage. A fourth single, ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ with its intoxicating opening riff was the final release from the album.
Chock-full of conviction, passion and plenty of swagger, ‘Definitely Maybe’ at just short of 52 minutes long was like nothing else out there in the nineties. Every track is for want of a better word, an absolute banger – there are no weak links and thanks to the band’s indomitable spirit and impassioned lyrics, they were not just songs but anthems that were and still remain a soundtrack of millions of people’s lives all over the world.
The braggadocio was both audacious and brilliant in equal measure. This was a band that had unshakable self-belief that Oasis would reach the top and their ambitious nature helped propel them to be the biggest band in the world and has been cited as a pivotal turning point in the Britpop music movement of the mid nineties.
Arguably, ‘Definitely Maybe’ was the band’s magnum opus and a modern masterpiece, so ahead of the seminal albums 30th anniversary, CLASH writer Emma Harrison revisits the stories behind the songs of one of the most successful debut albums of all time.
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Phoenix from the ashes after initial chaotic recordings
They say out of adversity comes triumph and this certainly rings true when it comes to the recording sessions of ‘Definitely Maybe’ originally held at Monnow Valley Studio in Wales. They had the songs, there was no doubt about that, but for whatever reason it didn’t feel or indeed sound ‘right’ and Oasis cut the entire album twice, and both times, they were unsatisfied with the results.
Bonehead recalled that it “wasn’t happening” and their live raucous appeal wasn’t translating into the studio and the band were not happy with what they had laid down so far. The band ripped up the rule book and started again firing the original producer Dave Batchelor.
A bold move by both the band and their management with Noel Gallagher recalling that “I’ll always respect [Creation Records head Alan] McGee for that. He just said ‘Look, fuckin’ go and do it again.’ And we were like, ‘Are you sure?’ He was like, ‘Just go and do it again, cos you’ve got to get it right”.
And so they did, Liam, Noel, Bonehead, Guigsy and Tony McCarroll, led by music producer Mark Coyle recorded the album for the second time at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall, but it still didn’t sound or feel right.
The clock was ticking and the bills were piling up. Salvation came in the shape of sound engineer Owen Morris who added a filtering technique he’d learnt from New Order’s Bernard Sumner, and created a drum sound which gave Oasis’ inaugural effort a bigger and more dynamic sonic that encapsulated the raw energy, punk-like aesthetic and edginess synonymous with Oasis. By not accepting the status quo and believing that they were capable of more, it resulted in a supersonic turbo-charged sound that’s as vital today as it was in 1994, thirty years on.
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The album artwork is full of symbolism
Iconic and instantly recognisable, the album cover of ‘Definitely Maybe’ is quite possibly the band’s most eminent album cover. Full of symbolism, the band convened at guitarist Bonehead’s house in Manchester and it’s a blazing emblem of the Britpop era.
The photograph on the front cover of the album was taken by rock photographer Michael Spencer Jones who was inspired by an old Beatles’ 1966 compilation LP ‘A Collection of Beatles Oldies’. It features Tony McCarroll engrossed in Noel Gallagher’s favourite film, the spaghetti western ‘The Good The Bad And The Ugly’, Liam Gallagher lying on the wooden floor, his brother Noel on the sofa playing his guitar and Guigsy and Bonehead in the background near the bay window.
Spencer Jones asked the band to bring objects that had significant meaning with them to the photo shoot. This included a framed photo of Manchester City footballer Rodney Marsh propped against the fireplace. The footballing theme continues with a picture of George Best seen in the window (made at Bonehead’s request, as a huge Manchester United fan)
Bonehead’s beloved Epiphone Riviera, which he used on every Oasis recording and gig during his tenure in the band, is propped against the back wall. Noel opted for a gatefold sleeve of Burt Bacharach, one of Noel’s songwriting idols which leans against the side of the sofa on the lower left-hand side of the cover. Less than two years later, Noel duetted with his hero on ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’ and called it the “most stressful day of my entire life…”
Other objet d’art’s included a glass of wine (that was actually Ribena) positioned to the right of where Liam was lying down in a transcendental state, a pink flamingo perched upon the fireplace and an inflatable globe that dangled precariously from the ceiling by a thread.
Spencer Jones had his hands full with the shoot, from having to remove countless cans of Red Stripe cans and trying to fit the band into what was a relatively modestly-sized living room to dealing with Liam scampering off on a Lambretta Scooter. Spoiler Alert, he later bought a 1954 Lambretta which made an appearance on the cover of the band’s third album ‘Be Here Now’.
The album’s closer ‘Married With Children’ is inspired by the American sitcom of the same name.
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There’s a myriad of cultural references embedded within ‘Definitely Maybe’
Thought you would ever hear the melody from the 1971 Coca-Cola jingle ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’ in a rock ‘n’ roll song?! – ‘Shakermaker’ has just entered the chat! The melody of the whimsical journey through the mind of someone hankering for escape and change originated from The New Seekers track ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’, which became a worldwide hit decades earlier after it was included in an advertisement for Coca-Cola.
Despite changing the original opening line ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony’ to the now famous opening line “I’d like to be somebody else and not know where I’ve been / I’d like to build myself a house out of plasticine”, the revision wasn’t enough to keep the fizzy lawyers at Coca Cola at bay and Creation Records settled out of court for an eye-watering pop-tastic sum of $500,000.
Bonehead later confessed to plagiarism and said: “We ripped it off, so they had the right to sue us. Fair enough. People will steal from other bands but change the lyrics. We just did the same thing but kept some of the same lyrics in. We drink Pepsi now”.
Carbonated drink references aside, there are also other cultural entities from Noel Gallagher’s childhood, the name of the track was a popular toy from the 70’s and the character of ‘Mr Soft’ originates from a Trebor Soft Mints commercial.
The characters of ‘Mr. Clean’ and ‘Mr Soft’ pay homage to music acts like The Jam and Cockney Rebel. There’s a singular reference to ‘Mister Sifter’ who sold songs when the narrator was just 16. The band used to buy their records from Sifters record shop in Manchester in the late eighties and early nineties and the character of ‘Mister Sifter’ made an appearance in Liam Gallagher’s latest fashion campaign for his clothes label Pretty Green with the shop’s owner posing up a storm for the rock’n’ roll inspired photoshoot.
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Immortality and freedom reigns supreme
Hope, possibility and coming of age are all prevalent in ‘Definitely Maybe’. One of the defining albums of the decade, the 1994 debut from the band cuts to the core thanks to its immediacy, ferocity and sass.
Speaking ahead of its release in 1994, Noel mused that the album was all ‘about escaping’ and this is central to the album, but ‘Definitely Maybe’ is so much more than that. If you had to define it in just one snapshot, it would be five young guys who were utterly fearless and fiercely entrenched in their own belief that the power of their music would allow them to transcend the everyday which they considered to be prosaic and restrictive.
It’s a celebration of working class pride and conviction, avaricious ambition and a never say die attitude. Unapologetic in their approach, the band are cocksure and are in essence offering a two finger salute to the world. They are dream chasers, but are not naive. There’s wide-eyed euphoria, but it’s never misplaced. ‘Definitely Maybe’ is a delirious cocktail of rebellion, enigma, aspiration and good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll swagger.
Possibly the most standout theme comes with one of the most enduring tracks on the album, the anthemic ‘Live Forever’ which talks of yearning for immortality. It’s optimistic, emotional and sincere and has become one of the band’s most loved songs.
It was one of the songs that made Alan McGee sign Oasis to Creation Records after he saw the band play at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow in May 1993. Intriguingly ‘Live Forever’ never made the cut of their four track set – well, they weren’t even supposed to be playing that night after all!
The optimistic lyrics’ genesis was as a result of Noel taking umbrage with a song from that Kurt Cobain had written called ‘‘I Hate Myself and Want to Die’. Despite being a huge admirer of Cobain, it inspired Noel to write the ever-hopeful ‘Live Forever’ with Noel commenting that he thought: “Well, I’m not fucking having that.’ As much as I fucking like him [Cobain] and all that shit, I’m not having that!”
He continued: “My way of thinking was, Well, I fuckin’ love myself, and I’m gonna live forever, man!”
The album remarkably sonically navogates from rebellion to being introspectively reflective and makes you feel every drop of emotion that the band had.
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Lyrically speaking
Aside from the aforementioned characters, there are some intriguing lyrics throughout the album. From the rip-roaring invitation to ‘Shake along with me’ in ‘Shakermaker’ to “I live my life in the city / There’s no easy way out’ in ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” which eludes to their aspiration to escaping for bigger and better things.
The later song then segues into the lines: “I live my life for the stars that shine / People say it’s just a waste of time… In my mind my dreams are real / Tonight I’m a rock’n’roll star!”
Whilst it was ‘Live Forever’ that cemented Oasis’ signing with Creation, it was ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ that captivated music producer Owen Morris who took the recording of the song to the next level thanks to Owen’s undeniably magical touch.
Who could deny the brilliance of Liam’s delivery of Noel’s unforgettable line ‘wanna live, don’t wanna die’ and the unifying ‘I think you’re the same as me, we see things they’ll never see’ which even now sees complete strangers embracing when the track is performed live. It’s the ultimate song that brings together unity, idealism and vitality.
The anthemic chorus, with its iconic refrain ‘I wanna be a rock ‘n’ roll star’ encapsulates the band’s undeniable star power and brash confidence that personified Oasis at the peak of their powers.
The track along with the other 10 songs are a quintessential example of the band’s unrivalled ability to craft anthems that speak to the rebellious spirit and aspirations of a generation.
Full of timeless anthems, ‘Definitely Maybe’ captured the band at their rawest and catapulted its way straight to number one on the U.K. chart and became the fastest-selling debut album in British history. It’s loved universally and no more so than Noel Gallagher himself who confessed that he loves it, “not only musically, but for what it meant to people. And what it still means to people.”
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‘Definitely Maybe’ turns 30 on August 29th.
Words: Emma Harrison // @emmahwriter
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